Increased Foraging in Outdoor Organic Pig Production-Modeling Environmental Consequences.

ABSTRACT: Consumers' motivations for buying organic products include a wish of acquiring healthy, environmentally friendly products from production systems that also ensure a high level of animal welfare. However, the current Danish organic pig production faces important challenges regarding environmental impact of the system. High ammonia emissions arise from outdoor concrete areas with growing pigs and sows on pasture possess an increased risk of nitrogen (N) leaching. Direct foraging in the range area is suggested as a way to improve the nutrient efficiency at farm level and to support a more natural behavior of the pig. Thus, by modeling, we investigated the environmental consequences of two alternative scenarios with growing pigs foraging in the range area and different levels of crops availabl

SUBMITTER: Jakobsen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5224558 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature